Daylight Moon
by AngelontheMoon93
Summary: It's Bella's first day at Forks High, and Edward encounters her for the first time in the cafeteria. But what if this time things are different? What if he can read her mind? What if she's not his singer? Will he still fall in love? Edward's POV
1. First Sight

**A/N: I don't own this chapter of Daylight Moon. Though I have edited it a little, it belongs strictly to Athey,** **not me. I am only borrowing it, with her permission, for a continuation. More chapters to come.**

**I also do not own Twilight or any of the characters.  
**

XxXxXxXxX

Another long, boring, pointless day in purgatory. It's days like this one; basically every weekday for three quarters of the year, that I question my own sanity for doing this willingly.

I sat at the same lunch table that my family and I sit at every school day, in the Forks High cafeteria. Why was I doing this again? Oh right - blending in. Not that we could ever blend in anywhere.

No matter where we went or what we did, we stuck out like sore thumbs. The humans all thought us beautiful. But while they were attracted to our beauty, they were deterred by their subconscious instincts that told them to be wary. To stay away.

So none of them would get anywhere near us. Which was, of course, a very good idea. Especially today. My brother Jasper was not a safe person to be near today.

Out of the five of us, Jasper was actually the oldest. Older then me by more then 60 years. But his age was far from an advantage. The vast majority of his long life was spent feeding on humans. It wasn't until fairly recently, when he met Alice, that he finally opted to feed solely on animals; my family's diet of choice. We jokingly referred to ourselves as vegetarians for that choice.

We were all vampires, of course, but vampires that opted to try and live more 'normal' lives. Instead of wandering from one place to another, constantly moving on to avoid attracting too much attention, we had chosen to have a permanent home.

Every time we have had to 'move on' for one reason or another we'd start the entire process over again. We'd all start out as young as we could reasonably pull off, and go through the torture of public school again and again, in order to stay in that location for as long as possible. The younger we were when we started out in a place, the longer we could stay before people became too suspicious of our mysterious lack of aging.

This was our second year in Forks Washington.

Our original arrival in town had been a huge deal to the child population of the school, and for the first time since then, the entire school population had found another _new-student_ bit of gossip to obsess over.

The town's police sheriff had a daughter. A daughter who was coming to live with him, thanks to some new custody arrangement.

It wasn't something that mattered to me at all, but I was still very much aware of all the varied details thanks to my own special 'gift'. Honestly, going through high school over and over again probably wouldn't be nearly as unbearable if it weren't for the fact that I had to listen to the thoughts of the children around me all day long.

The thoughts of teenagers are probably the most unbearable thoughts imaginable. At any given point in time, half the student body had one of the latest and more obnoxious pop songs of the day stuck in their head; the male population was almost constantly exploring one fantasy or another about their female classmates... and teachers; and the majority of the girls were too consumed by wondering if their fellow girls were thinking about them, to even bother thinking about anything else.

I've always tried my best to block them all out, but no matter how hard I tried, the best I could do was quiet it into a din of noise. I can ignore them most of the time, but certain things always catch my attention simply out of habit.

_Edward Cullen._

Like people thinking my name... The thought caught my attention immediately and I glanced in the direction that I'd 'heard' it coming from. I always turned my head when I heard my name. I was glad that my name had gone out of style because it used to be insanely irritating to turn to the thoughts of every person who thought the name Edward, when they weren't even talking about me.

This day the thought was coming from Jessica Stanley.

My eyes slipped from her face to the face of the girl beside her. It was a face I'd seen all day long through the minds of the student body. It was the new girl, Isabella Swan, or _Bella_, as she seemed to prefer, having corrected everyone who'd spoken to her so far today.

My breath caught.

Seeing her through the dull simple eyes of the human populace and seeing her in person, with my own, considerably superior vampire eyes, was a significantly different matter. Even looking at her from all the way across the room, her brown eyes seemed endlessly deep. Her skin was pale, nearly as pale as my own and she stuck out even amongst the tan-less population of Forks High. Her dark brown hair, and deep brown eyes contrasted the light ivory of her complexion perfectly, and oh... her _blush_.

Our eyes had met for only the briefest second before her cheeks flushed red and her glorious eyes darted down to the table.

I felt... light. Excited. It was strange. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd felt anything even remotely like this. I shook my head, confused.

_Edward? Are you okay, man?_ Jasper asked me through his mind. My eyes darted over to meet his. He had a confused look on his face, one eye brow raised curious.

Jasper, like me, possessed a unique gift. He was an empath. He could read the emotions of those around him, as well as influence them. I realized that he'd sensed the strange shift in my mood.

It was a welcome distraction for him. He'd been having trouble all day dealing with his thirst, having pushed himself farther then was wise. I guess having something else to focus on was probably a relief for him.

I nodded my head subtly, not wanting to acknowledge his concerns verbally and draw the unnecessary attention of my other siblings.

I turned my attention back to Jessica and the new girl, Bella.

"That's Edward, Alice and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. They all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife_._"Jessica was telling her.

_Strange, unpopular names,_ Bella thought. _The kinds of names grandparents have. But maybe that's what's in vogue here — small town names?_

I grinned. Not sure why, but this amused me.

Her mental voice sounded lovely. People's internal voices were usually very similar to their spoken voices – or rather, to what their spoken voice sounded like to them. Humans tend to hear their own voices slightly differently then what it sounded like to everyone else. I couldn't remember any longer what my own voice sounded like to me when I was still human. The memories of that time long faded and forgotten. My vampire hearing negating that effect now.

I found myself wondering what her voice would sound like in person. How different it would be from the one in her head.

_Why am I thinking about this?_ I wondered to myself. Thrown off by such strange thoughts flying through my own mind.

"They are… very nice-looking." Bella said to Jessica. She was thinking that it was an extreme understatement.

_Ah... her voice was lovely._ There was a lot of noise pollution from the surrounding students. I could still make out hers easily, but I longed for a chance to hear it up close and with fewer distractions.

Jessica began gushing over the standard Cullen Family gossip. Going on about how we were the three Cullens were adopted while the two Hale _kids_ were foster children of Esme's, but how strangely scandalous it was that many of us were 'together, together', referring to Alice and Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie being couples.

"Jessica Stanley is relaying Cullen gossip to the new girl." I muttered quietly to my siblings, trying to sound uninterested.

Jasper eyed me curiously again, still sensing some rare emotions from me. Emmett looked up. "Anything juicy?" He grinned.

"Nothing new." I said in a bored tone.

It was my job, as the family _telepath_, to try and catch any dangerous town gossip early, and warn the family.

"What's the new girl think?" Emmett asked, just for something to talk about.

"She thinks Esme and Carlisle must be very kind to take in older children." I began. Her thoughts were kind. She was really warmed by the idea. "Huh..." I let slip from my mouth in slight surprise.

Rosalie looked up, wondering what had caught my attention now.

"She feels..._ pity _for us." I said quietly, looking down at the table, while still listening in on the new girls' thoughts. Rosalie looked almost insulted. The idea that a human would find any reason to feel pity for us was ridiculous to her.

"She feels sorry for us, being such outsiders. Not being accepted by the other students." I quickly said to clarify, seeing Rose's reaction. "She's also relieved that she isn't the only oddity in the school." I smirked, "She doesn't like all of the attention she's getting, being the _new girl._"

_Hmfph. Don't care._ Rosalie thought as she rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the small compact mirror in her hand.

My attention turned back to the pair of girls again suddenly as Bella mentally prepared to ask Jessica another question and a vision of my face went through her mind.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" Bella asked her.

_Oh god! Good luck! _Jessica thought as she rolled her eyes internally. She went on to explain to Bella to not _bother_, since I was apparently not bothered to even notice any of the girls in school. No matter how many had tried, I'd shunned them all. Jessica's tone clearly showed her own personal irritation. Bella grinned and she wondered when I'd turned Jessica down. I stifled a chuckle.

She glanced at me again and noticed I was smiling. I looked away, but tuned into Jessica's mind to watch Bella through her eyes.

Jessica's mind was not a pleasant place to be. She was a horribly shallow creature, but in a different way then my sister Rosalie. Jessica was the type of person who would befriend someone just to get juicier gossip on them, so the moment their back is turned she can run to everyone else and spread the word.

Her primary motive for clinging so close to Bella today seemed to be to bask in the radiated attention, everyone was casting down on Bella. Her thoughts were vile and bitter. She was the type of person who wouldn't hesitate for a moment to stab another person in the back, if it benefited her.

Something about the vicious edge to Jessica's thoughts that Bella was clearly unaware of gave me the strange urge to step in between them, to shield Bella from the darker workings of Jessica's mind. At the very least to warn the girl to try and find a different friend to cling to.

_Why am I concerning myself with this so much?_ I shook my head, trying to clear it. The pointless inner-workings of the stupid high school social networking system never consumed my thoughts this much before.

Bella really did seem different from most of them though. She did notice our uncanny attractiveness, but it wasn't what her thoughts focused around.

She was kind, and seemed almost naive as to the nature of the attention she was drawing from the students around her. But she didn't want the attention, kind or otherwise; it made her uncomfortable and part of her wished she'd just been able to sit alone for lunch instead of the large crowded table she was sitting at. The only reason she'd done it at all was so as not to be rude when Jessica dragged her there.

Most girls would be thrilled to have so easily been accepted into a closed niche group of 'popular' teens. Been excited with how willing and excited everyone was with becoming friends with the girl. She didn't desire the acceptance or the attention. She just wanted to blend into the background and be left alone. She seemed to be very shy and reserved.

The urge to protect her from her table mates grew in me again. I didn't approve of several of them. Jessica was certainly one of them, but Lauren's thoughts equally venomous, if not more so. And the disturbing images flying through the mind of Mike... I cringed, disgusted.

Now I _really_ wanted to go over there. Just to drag her away from his vile mind.

His eyes were glaring over her form, taking advantage of the fact that her attention was distracted in the opposite direction of him. He raked his eyes over her curves, imagining what her exposed curves would look like without the clothing. I'd seen such fantasies from his mind many _many_ times before of a large portion of the school's female population, but never before this moment had it upset me so much.

Anger roared up in my chest and I had to clench my fist on the table edge to stop myself from jolting up from my seat. The internal struggle had happened in less then a microsecond and I'd kept myself perfectly still through the entire thing so none of my siblings even noticed... except for Jasper.

I darted my eye over to his face for a second trying to gauge him. His eyes were wide and he was looking at me like I'd gone mad.

_Edward... what the hell is going on with you?_ He asked through his thoughts.

I shook my head lightly. I honestly was not really sure what was _going on._ The thoughts and emotions raging through my head were foreign to me – at least they were when they were my own. I wasn't sure how I'd answer him, even if I had been willing to do so at this moment... which I wasn't.

It was then that my siblings decided to depart from the table.

"Shall we?" Rosalie said, stuffing her compact into her bag, and collecting her untouched tray of food.

Rosalie and Emmett stood up first, taking their trays over and dumping the contents into the trash. Alice, who had spent the entire lunch period focused on her husband's immediate future for any signs of a slip, stood up and Jasper hesitantly followed her, eying me curiously the entire time. A moment later I followed suit, standing up and carrying my tray towards the trash can. Quickly, I chanced a brief glance in Bella Swan's direction. She was looking at me again. She blushed, once again embarrassed at getting caught staring. I grinned. She grinned back sheepishly, her blush growing.

What a glorious effect that had on her face. The red touched her cheeks in the most lovely fashion. I suddenly realized I'd stopped moving and was just standing there staring across the cafeteria at her. Our eyes locked. I could hear her heart rate running a mile a minute even from all the way across the room. She looked at her tray for a second before looking back up at me through her eyelashes, smiling.

_Is she flirting with me?_ I found myself returning a crooked grin. I chuckled lightly and finally continued on my way, dumping the untouched contents of my tray and heading towards the exit. I looked at her one last time and smiled. She smiled back.

I felt a warm rush fly through me. It was so strange. I'd never felt anything like it. It certainly wasn't the first time one of the girls in the school had attempted to flirt with me. It was, however, the first time I'd felt any urge to reciprocate. Our simple silent exchange felt so juvenile, and yet it set me on fire. I had no idea what it meant, but for the first time in... ever, I felt light and even... _happy_ while in school.

I wondered what her next class might be.

XXXXX

I sat down at my desk in the back of the biology room. I was the only one in the class who didn't share a table with anyone. Mr Banner allowed it because even he was more then aware how thoroughly I already knew the material, and because the class had an odd number of students and it was simply a necessity. If anything it worked in his favor. Many of the labs in the class involved table-mates pairing up to share equipment, and anyone else being forced to do them solo would leave them at a disadvantage. That was clearly not the case with me.

It also worked out to the advantage of the rest of the students in the class since none of them would honestly feel comfortable having to sit that close to me day-in and day-out.

The class was slowly filling with students. I'd arrived early, having nothing better to do. I unloaded my bag full of books sloppily across the table and leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling.

Absently I searched in my mind for the mental voice of Bella Swan. She was walking with Angela Weber. I smiled. Angela's thoughts were kind and they seemed to be getting along well. Apparently the two of them shared their next class and the Weber girl was showing her the way.

_Wait... isn't Angela in _this_ class? _I wondered to myself suddenly, opening my eyes and looking towards the door just as it opened and the two of them entered. The class was almost full now and I realized that the only open seat in the class was the one next to me.

Angela took her seat while Bella made her way towards the front of the classroom to the teachers desk.

Her eyes caught mine and we smiled at each other again. I couldn't help it. She blushed as she walked past me.

_What the heck? Did Cullen just smile at the new girl?_ Mike Newton's thoughts intruded, both surprised and irritated. I was definitely forming a growing dislike for this boy.

My attention quickly shifted back to the new girl. I caught her scent and it was absolutely heavenly. My throat burned from it, and it was stronger then usual, but I'd been abstaining for centuries and this was nothing I couldn't handle. I made a mental note to hunt tonight, anyways, for cautions sake. Jasper needed to anyways, and I could always use that as an excuse.

_Although Jasper will probably want to prod me for details on today... _The thought ambled through my mind. _Well, as long as it's just the two of us, maybe we can talk about this. _

She handed her slip to Mr Banner, he signed it and handed her a copy of the class book. He motioned for her to join me at my table and she headed my way.

I suddenly realized my mess of books were still occupying the entire table and quickly shuffled them into a neater pile and shoved them to the edge of my side.

She sat down, looking away bashfully. I could hear her trying to will away her blush, in her mind. She was arguing with herself, internally. Telling herself that she'd imagined our exchange in the lunch room.

_There's no way someone this gorgeous would ever even look my way... especially after what Jessica said. He's probably got every girl in the school after him. No way he's interested in me.  
_

I rolled my eyes internally, thinking back to the number of girls who'd spent the first six months of our attendance here, practically throwing themselves at me. They had no idea how lucky they were that I didn't return their interest.

_But what about this girl?_

I caught myself. What _about_ this girl? What was this... thing, I was doing? She was consuming my thoughts far too much.

I shoved the thought from my mind, not wanting to deal with it just yet, and turned to face her. She had her hair down between us as a curtain, still trying to will away the flush in her cheeks.

"Hello. I'm Edward Cullen." I said to her in a surprisingly pleasant tone; surprising to me, at least. It didn't even take any effort, it just came out that way.

"Oh..." she popped her head up, eying me with surprise. "Hi," she said breathlessly. Her real voice was even lovelier than her mental one.

I chuckled at her startled response.

"You must be Bella Swan." I said, hoping to get her to respond further.

Her brow knitted together suddenly. _How'd he know my name?_

"How do you know my name?" She asked, her voice a little harsh.

I raised a single eyebrow, as if to ask her if she was honestly asking me that question.

"I'd be surprised if a single student in this school isn't aware of your name." I said back, grinning.

"No... Well, I know that..." she scowled for a moment before looking back up, "I mean, why'd you call me Bella?"

I eyed her confused, not entirely sure what she was getting at. I quickly tried to pick her brain to see where this line of questioning was going. _Oh... Isabella. Everyone else knew her as Isabella._ I quickly struggled to find a way to fix my slip-up.

"Uh... well, I thought you preferred Bella. I'd heard several of the students talking about you correcting them. If you prefer Isabella, I'm fine with that as well." I shrugged playing off my slip.

"No, I like Bella. Charlie... I mean, my dad, must have been going around town all these years referring to me as Isabella or something, since so far everyone else has called me that."

"I can understand not liking people to get your name wrong. My brother Emmett thinks it funny to tease me by calling me _Eddie_. It annoys me endlessly." _Why was I telling her this?_

She giggled lightly. _Oh... lovely. _I thought. I couldn't help it.

Her smiled touched her eyes and they sparkled. I felt mesmerized by them. The foreign warmth in my chest boiling up again.

"Yeah, you don't really look like an _Eddie_ to me. Don't worry, _I_ promise to never call you Eddie." She giggled again.

"I appreciate that." I couldn't help but smile at her. Her heart rate picked up and she blushed again and she let her hair fall and shield her again, in an attempt to hide.

I bent my head down to the table to eye her from under the curtain. "Don't hide."

"I'm not hiding." She blushed harder. _Stop looking, I'm going to melt!_

I chuckled.

"Don't laugh at me." _I hate my blushing! Gah, I wish I could control this stupid reaction better._

"I'm not laughing. And I think it's lovely when you blush. I wish you wouldn't hide."

_Lovely?_ She thought, her eyes wide with surprise. She turned towards me more and without even thinking, I found my hand moving upwards to push the hair back behind her ear. My finger just barely contacted with her skin as I finally tucked the hair back. My breath caught.

I jerked my hand back and looked away.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to... I hope you aren't upset... I-"

_What the hell is wrong with me? Why did I do that?_

"It's okay. It's fine, really." _Why is he apologizing? Why would I be upset...? He seems upset... I should change the subject..._ "I... I saw you in the cafeteria during lunch. That was your family you were sitting with?"

I tried to recuperate my composure. I wasn't sure why I'd reacted so... it was strange. I couldn't even make sense of my own actions right now. "Uh, yes, my brothers and sisters... I saw you too. You were sitting with Jessica Stanley?"

"I guess... I don't really know any of their names... You know Jessica?" _Oh geez... what if he does like her. Maybe he was looking at her that whole time, not me. I should have realized..._

"I wouldn't say I _know_ Jessica. She pestered me quite a bit when my family and I first moved here. I... I wouldn't really recommend her as a good choice from the 'friend pool'. She's not a very... _kind_.... person." I hoped that she wouldn't be offended by that. It wasn't exactly any of my business who she choose to be friends with...

_Oh! I guess he doesn't like her... that's a relief... sort of...is he worried about me being friends with her? She seemed nice enough, but he probably knows more about her then I could._

"Obviously, you can be friends with whoever you want... I'm not trying to be pushy or anything..." I realized I was backtracking. I never did this... what was wrong with me?

"No... it's sweet of you to be concerned." She looked away for a moment before looking back, "If I may ask... why exactly would you not recommend her as a good friend? Just so I have a better idea."

"Ah... well, she's... she's really more interested in gossip then the people behind the gossip." I searched wildly for some excuse I could give her that didn't involve revealing that I could read the girl's thoughts and they were just generally vile. "I... I can't necessarily put a single explanation to it, she's just never shown herself to be a particularly caring person." I shrugged and hoped that would be sufficient to get her to give up the subject.

She was just about to open her mouth, the thought still forming in her mind when Mr Banner called the class to attention. Bella's attention immediately switched to the front of the classroom and I felt myself sighing, irritated that my time to speak with the girl was cut short.

The subject matter discussed in the class was as boring and mind-numbing as ever and I didn't bother to pay a bit of attention. Bella's mind was more focused on it, but I caught her peeking at me several times through out the class. Every time I grinned back at her and she'd blush.

She was embarrassed at being caught, the thought not even crossing her mind that the only reason she was caught was because I was staring at her the entire time.

It was as if she couldn't even fathom the possibility that I would be watching her. It was strange.... this girl had such a low opinion of herself.

I glanced up at the clock, only one minute left. Mr Banner hadn't stopped talking the entire time. I groaned internally, frustrated.

"Alright class, don't forget to prep for Friday's quiz and remember..." My head popped up. He was finally finishing his lecture. I heard shuffling among the other students as they put away their notes and books.

I glanced over at Bella. She took a deep sigh and relaxed into her chair for a moment before sitting up and putting her newly acquired biology book into her backpack.

I wanted to talk to her.... I _wanted_ to _talk_ to this human girl. But... why? Why was I so upset that my talk with her had been interrupted in the first place?

I knew I shouldn't be. This wasn't something I should let myself be consumed with. I told myself I was just bored. Surely that was all.

Day in and day out, the school days dragged on endlessly repeating themselves. For some reason this girls arrival put enough of a dent in the doldrums that it caught my attention, but that was all.

That was all.

Really.

The class ended, and she made her way out of the classroom. I couldn't help but watch her as she left.

I sighed, waited a moment longer and finally stood up and made my way to Spanish.

Most of the rest of the week was a repeat of that first day. I couldn't stop watching her at lunch. Listening in with the conversations and thoughts of her and her collection of 'friends' that she seemed to sit with solely out of convenience. She did seem to take my 'advice' into consideration.

Her thoughts showed that she was more cautious of the things Jessica told her. I would guess she would have probably picked up on this on her own anyway though. It seemed obvious to Bella that Jessica really was a bit of a shallow creature, but Bella also clearly gave her more leeway that I would ever spare a person like _Jessica Stanley._

Each day I'd try to make simple smalltalk before biology, but never anything very deep, I decided. I wanted to. I _really_ wanted to... and that scared me. So I held my tongue, only going so far. Just the same.... sometimes I'd try asking a seemingly simple question just to get her thinking along a certain line just to get a peak at her thoughts on the subject.

Of course Jasper noticed that something was going on. But he kept quiet. I was amazed that even Alice hadn't seemed to realize something was was up. She was rather focused on her own world, of course, but since Jasper was basically in the center of her world, and Jasper, clearly noticed something was off with me, I was sure she'd pick up on it as well.

But here it was Friday, and not a single of my siblings, aside from Jasper, even spared a thought to my odd fixation. They hadn't even noticed it.

I had feared I was being rather... obvious... but I guess, maybe I wasn't. Even Bella Swan herself seemed ambivalent of my strange obsession. She convinced herself that our little wordless exchange in the cafeteria the first day had been her imagination... which... actually _saddened_ me.

She still looked my way... quite often in fact, and when I'd speak to her in class her heart rate would race, her face would flush and her breath would catch.

Oh, how I loved that reaction...

I kept waiting for her thoughts to betray her 'true self' and come to realize she truly was just like all of the rest of them. That I was just seeing something that wasn't there that first day... but of course that didn't happen. Far from it. The more I listened into her mind, the greater my fascination with her grew.

She missed her mother. She missed brown. I couldn't help but chuckle at that. I'd never really encountered someone who seemed to enjoy the color brown so much, but she really seemed to despise the endless moisture of Forks, and missed the dirt and sand of her home in Arizona.

Most of all, she missed the Sun.

I could empathize with that...

She didn't want anyone to realize she was unhappy, for any reason. She didn't want any sympathy. No pity. She didn't want anyone else to ever suffer for her sake. She was a martyr. Self-sacrificing.

_God, she's beautiful...._

I caught myself. Shook my head trying to clear it. _What the hell is going on with me?_

I was leaning against the wall near the entrance to the cafeteria waiting for my siblings to join me for our lunch time facade. I'd let my mind wander, following her movements from her last class towards the lunchroom.

Jessica Stanley was with her, Mike Newton trailing close behind. Jessica was talking animatedly about absolutely nothing important. Jessica was thrilled that her affiliation with Bella had garnered her so much of Mike's attention, but she was less then thrilled that Mike's attention was solely focused on Bella, and not on herself at all. Whatever Jessica was going on about, Bella wasn't paying her any attention at all. She was going over an assignment in her mind, planning out her evening. She apparently cooked for her father and needed to go grocery shopping.

This would mark the end of her first week. She moved on to planning her weekend in her head. Laundry, cleaning, homework... she was looking forward to some quiet time to read. Her father was going fishing.

They walked past me and into the cafeteria. Our eyes met. She blushed. My breath caught.

_Beautiful...._

And she was gone. Into the room accompanied by - surrounded by - mindless hormonal idiots.

I caught an unavoidable glimpse of Mike's thoughts and couldn't help but growl low in my chest. I'd taken to avoiding the boys thoughts like the plague. They only served to aggravate me beyond reason. Eric's and Tyler's weren't much better. They'd also taken to sitting with Jessica and Bella, so Lauren Mallory was also a regular there. She wanted Tyler and, Tyler's fascination with Bella drew out the most venomous thoughts in Lauren's mind.

It was disgusting how half the people who pretended to play the role of her friends were fantasizing her naked, the the other half were fantasizing her gone.

I hated it.

She was so innocent. She didn't deserve to be surrounded by such a wretched group.

_Better then being surrounded by a group of vampires._

I sighed.

_Was it?_

Jasper tapped me on the shoulder.

I jumped minutely, caught off guard. It wasn't easy for someone to come up and surprise me.

He chuckled lightly and gave me, what Alice described as his 'Lazy Smile'.

"Hey Edward.... I was hopin' you'd come chat with me?" He said, his southern accent coming through.

Alice was behind him and eyed him curiously... then suspiciously. She obviously didn't know what was up and hadn't seen this coming. Jasper must have been remaining undecided up until the moment he finally came up to me. Being married to the woman, he was more closely familiar then most how to dodge her talent.

He also knew how to dodge mine, and he was doing precisely that.

I raised an eyebrow, questioningly. He simply grinned back softly.

"Sure."

He turned back to Alice and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

"Tell the others we'll be back in to join them shortly. Shouldn't be too long." She nodded, suspicion in her eyes. I could see her mind working overtime to try and see what was coming as she made her way into the cafeteria.

Jasper and I walked silently towards the parking lot, way out to the edge. Far enough that it would take some conscious effort on the part of our siblings to listen in. They could still do it, but they'd have to really try and hopefully they wouldn't bother.

He paused near the edge of the concrete, and relaxed against a tall wooden poll that supported a streetlight atop it.

I shuffled uncomfortable. I was starting to get an idea of what this was about, but he was still keeping himself from mentally verbalizing the words he wanted to say up until the moment he was ready to actually do it.

"Is it Bella Swan?" He asked, suddenly looking me in the eyes.

"That obvious, is it?" I looked away.

"No. Not really. But her first day was when... _this_ started."

I looked at him now, surprised. Had I kept myself so rigid and cold, for so long, that that even such intense feelings as these didn't show through? That I could feel this strongly and not show it at all?

"What do you mean, exactly, by '_this'?"_. I asked cautiously.

"_This._ These... feelings I keep getting from you. I mean... My gawd man, I've never picked up such intense feelings from you. Its even more intense then your most intense self-loathing moping." He chuckled.

I scowled at him.

"It's... infatuation.... admiration.... jealousy. And it's growing. Everyday it changes and evolves further. I mean.. are you... are you falling in love with this girl?" He asked, his southern voice full of sincerity.

I could sense he was concerned. He had valid reasons to be.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger. Unsure how to answer him... well, maybe I was sure how to answer him, and that was the problem.

"I don't know Jazz. I.... I..." I couldn't continue. I just didn't know how.

"Have you ever felt like this before? With _anyone?"_ He asked.

I looked away.

"I mean... I know, Alice and I haven't been around to see nearly as much of you, as the rest of the family, but from the time I have known you, and from what I know from Esme and Carlisle... I... I just get the feeling that you've always dedicated yourself to just being... alone. Have you ever felt anything like this before now?"

I sighed... "No.... never. Not... not even when I was human. I've never felt a fascination like this before. No human... or even _vampire_, has ever caught my attention like this. I don't understand any of it."

I sighed and shuffled again awkwardly. I didn't need to... it was habit, and I needed something to do with myself.

"I always thought I was complete with... with just me. I didn't need anyone else. It's never been easy being the odd-man out, but it didn't bother me that much. It wasn't that big of a deal. Esme always worried about it, of course... After Rose found Emmett, Esme was so worried I'd feel... left out, or something. She was worried again after you and Alice joined the family. Three blissful couples... and me.

"But it didn't bother me. Not... not like..."

"Like it is now?" He finished for me.

My eyes shot up to meet his. _Was he right? _

"I don't know, Jasper. I... I didn't really think of that."

"You know Edward, I was already pretty old when Alice finally found me. Maria changed me so she'd have a skilled soldier for her army. She never wanted me as a mate, and we never were. Our relationship wasn't like that. When I met Alice, it was like my whole world changed. Everything was turned upside down... rather, everyone was upside down before, and when she showed up, everything was turned right-side-up."

He stared into my eyes. His gaze was intense, and he was telling me with his thoughts that was he was about to say was the absolute true.

"What I'm feeling from you right now? It feels like this week your world got turned right-side-up."

I gawked at him. My mind racing. This was all still too knew for me to make sense of it. I couldn't verbalize anything that I was feeling yet. Could Jasper be right? Was I falling for this girl? And if I was... what did that mean? She's human. _Human_.

I sighed roughly and ran my hand through my hair.

"Do you want her?" He asked, after a brief pause.

I was shocked.

"Do I _want_ her? What do you mean?" I asked him, flabbergasted.

"As your mate. Do you want this girl?" He asked again, one eyebrow raised with legitimate curiosity.

"Are you mad? She's _human_, Jasper."

He shrugged. "We were all human at one point."

"Are you honestly suggesting that I pursue this girl so I can change her and make her my _mate?!?_" I was shocked. He could _not_ be serious.

He rolled his eyes.

"She likes you too, you know." He said, matter-of-factly.

My eyes widened. Sure... I did already know that... sort of. But...

He sighed. "I'm not saying it _has_ to end that way. I mean, the two of you may get closer, just to discover it's not right. But at least you'll have made a step forward. You'll have tried. Worse case scenario, you get to know the girl and find you don't like her after all."

"No. Worse case scenario, is I.... I get to know this girl and I find that I _do_ like her... but I change her and she hates me for it." My voice was quiet. I hadn't even vocalized this thought in my own mind, but I'd known it was back there.

"You over-think things too much, Edward." He huffed and the two of them stood in silence for a moment. "Here's a scenario for you, Edward. Best case scenario; you fall for this girl. She falls for you. You change her, she _still _loves you and she becomes your mate and the two of you live together happily for eternity."

My breath caught and he smirked at me. Even just hearing the words vocalized sent shocks through my system.

_Is that really what I want?_

_Yes... _a little voice in the back of my mind whispered.

"I'm a wretched, selfish creature, Jasper. But even I'm not _that_ selfish. This girl is innocent. She's sweet and gentle... she deserves life. No matter what, I'd only be taking that away from her."

"Did it ever occur to you that you see this existence as an endless, bleak darkness, _because_ you're spending it so alone? I mean... you're with us... but you're also alone. If you had her... if she had _you_, maybe you wouldn't see your existence as the equivalent of living death. Maybe you could finally stop _just existing_ and start _living_."

"This is all moot. I'd never condemn someone to this life unless it was necessary. I couldn't change the girl just for my own selfish desires... even if she wanted it... _which she wouldn't."_

"You don't know that." He smirked.

I looked at him incredulous. "Jasper... I... what the hell are you even suggesting? I mean... have you thought about this at all? I'd... I'd have to _tell_ her, what we are.

"Lets say I do pursue her. I couldn't be honest with her. I couldn't tell her the truth. If I did, it'd only put her in danger. It'd put _us_ in danger. The moment she realized the truth she'd run screaming, and we'd have to leave again. This entire conversation is pointless. None of this is even an option."

He shrugged.

"I just wanted to make sure you were thinking this over. I've never felt anything like this from you before. It's real. Whatever it is. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime... well, existence, opportunity, here. I dunno."

He paused and the two of us stood in silence a minute longer.

"You know, whatever happens, you'll have Alice and my support. You've moved on for everyone in this family at one point or another. When Emmett has made mistakes and we had to leave, you did so without any complaint. When I've messed up, again, you moved on with the rest of us without complaint. Don't let worrying about us having to up and leave, prevent you from exploring this. I think it's too important to completely dodge it just because you're worried about causing the rest of us some inconvenience."

"Are _you_ telling me to pursue this? _You?_"

He chuckled and shrugged. "As long as we're prepared that _something _could go wrong, it won't be so bad. If we suddenly have to up and leave, so be it."

"Rose would kill me." I said, staring into the white-gray overcast sky.

He laughed now. "She'd get over it. Besides, when you get down to the nitty-gritty, Rosalie brought Emmett back to Carlisle to be changed because she wanted him for her mate. How different would that be from this?"

"Emmett was at the brink of death." I said, flatly.

"Details, details." He chuckled. "You know, Emmett isn't bitter or angry with Rosalie or Carlisle for what he is."

"It was still difficult for him in the beginning. He had a big family that he left behind. Lots of siblings... cousins..."

"He still doesn't blame Rose or Carlisle. He's grateful. He loves his _life_."

"He was going to _die._"

"It's more then that. You know it. Hell, I'd be willing to bet that even if Emmett hadn't been mauled by that bear, and Rosalie had taken him alive and well, he'd still love her. Their bond is that strong."

I sighed and shook my head. "This whole idea is just insane though... I mean... a _vampire _getting involved with a human? There's no way I'd just change her and run off with her. I wouldn't dream of throwing her into this life without some preparation... without knowing she'd actually _want_ to be with me. I'd have to... I don't know... court her. As a human."

"Isn't that basically what Tanya and her sisters are doing?" He looked at me with a single suggestive raised eyebrow. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't think it's quite the same thing."

"Well they may not exactly be falling _in love_ with the human males they bring into their home, but they're definitely getting intimate with them." He chuckled. I cringed at the mental images in his mind.

The last time we stayed with Tanya's clan was when we moved to Alaska a number of years back and our house construction wasn't finished yet so we spent our off-time at their house. Jasper had apparently walked in on Irina and some human male being... intimate.

He continued after a moment. "The humans they take to bed with them do survive it, so it's obviously possible... still can't imagine how they manage that." He said the last part with an incredulous tone. Out of our family, it was definitely the most difficult for Jasper to be near humans. Being intimate with one was still far beyond his own self-control.

But what about _my_ self-control? Could _I_ be... _intimate_ with a human? Would I have the strength to do that?

"Yeah, but it took them years of practice to get to the point where they didn't break their human partners in half like a toothpick." I sighed. I had thought of this... not that I wanted to admit it to anyone...

After another moments silence, Jasper stood up straight and began making his way back towards the school. I heaved a sigh and silently followed.

I knew this wasn't over, but I was out of things to say now and he knew it.

As we entered the cafeteria, Rosalie's eyes scrutinized us cautiously for a moment before she disregarded us and went back to the magazine she was reading. Emmett was irritated at being left out of whatever was going on. And Alice... Alice was bouncing up and down in her seat with an enormous grin on her face. I groaned.

Jasper looked at me apologetically. I sighed and weakly shrugged at him. I knew I couldn't keep this hidden forever... whatever _this_ is. It was honestly a miracle that Alice hadn't noticed until now.

We sat down, not bothering to get our display-only trays of food. The lunch period was more then half over and there just wasn't any point.

Alice was screeching excitedly at me in her mind. It was shrill and nearly incoherent. I tried to block her out, rubbing my temples with the middle and forefingers of each hand.

Habitually, I let my mind wander to Bella's instead, seeking refuge there.

_Oh...! He's back. I was worried... I was afraid he'd left for the day._

My eyes shot up and I glanced her way. Our eyes met and once again, she blushed.

_How does he do that.... it seems like every time I think about him, he looks my way... Why did the idea of him not being in Biology upset me so much anyway? He's gone for half the lunch period and I feel like I'm about to cry. You're so pathetic Bella. It's not like he even knows you exist. I've got enough of Fork's stupid high school drama trying to trail behind me with Jessica and her friends, I don't need to start generating a new one by obsessing over Edward Cullen..._

Mike's thoughts caught my attention next. _Bella's looking at Cullen... Again. Why do all the girls fall so hard for those freaks? I guess I can't totally blame them... Rosalie and Alice are both pretty damn hot... scary as hell, but hot. Not like I should really worry about it. Cullen's probably gay or something. He won't give anyone the time of day... except... he has been sort of chatty with Bella in Biology. Freak. It's bad enough having Eric and Tyler going after her, but having to compete with Cullen would suck. At least I know I look better then Eric and Tyler combined. But freak Edward Cullen could pull off being some sort of male super-model. Fuck._

I blocked him and slipped back into Bella's. She'd been distracted by Angela asking her something. She tended to actually listen when it was Angela. Bella could already sense that Angela was a far more sincere person then the others who joined her for lunch. Bella seemed to be a good judge of character.

I heaved a heavy sigh and turned back to face my siblings. They were all staring at me... well, all but Rosalie. Alice was still screaming excitedly at me in her thoughts, but they were becoming more irritated now since I'd been ignoring her.

Could I possibly allow myself to explore my feelings for Bella Swan? Maybe just a little... just _talk_ to her more. Or... I don't know. I haven't actually paid a slightest bit of attention to how courting is even done these days. Human boys always seem to have the most insipid ideas of courtship. Its like the best they can come up with is fast food and a trip to the local cinema.

But talking before class seemed to be getting me nowhere. In fact, she was still completely oblivious to my affection. She still seemed convinced that I was merely being polite.

I groaned internally and exhaled slowly just in time to sense the familiar tensing of Alice's mind. My eyes flew up to hers as they glazed over and she stared off into nothing as her mind filled with images.

My jaw dropped open as I saw the images flowing through her mind.

Bella and I were laying together on the grass in... _my meadow...!_ The sun was shining brightly in the sky and my skin was glistening with it. She had her head rested on my exposed chest, her tiny little index finger was tracing the contours of my muscles. My face was blissful and I sighed content.

The vision shifted suddenly. Everything was the same, but I was no longer laying on my back, and Bella was no longer rested on my chest. She was on the ground and I my body was pressed, laying over top of hers. I was holding myself up by my elbows, and my mouth... was on her neck, sucking.

My dead heart nearly skipped a beat in terror, thinking that in this vision I had given in to the terrible reality of what I was... until I saw myself pull back, trailing kisses up along her neck to the base of her jaw. The spot I'd been suckling before was undamaged. I was kissing her.

Out mouths finally met and her hands intertwined with my hair, pulling me closer. A moment later and I went back to suckling her neck, the opposite side now, licking the delicate skin there and finding my way down to her collar bone. She moaned and...

It ended.

As I came back to the reality of the world around me I realized suddenly how tightly wound I'd become just from those few brief images, my breathing was heavy and erratic. My pants were... tight.

The eyes of my siblings were flying from my face to Alice's and back again. Emmett and Rosalie were both worried and concerned. Alice and my reactions were visibly intense, but neither of our faces gave away whether or not Alice's vision was a good or a bad thing.

Jasper's eyes were wide. He could feel the intensely strong lust rolling off of me and I could hear his mind working to find a way to get Alice into a closet before the next class. Alice looked stunned and remained silent for a moment. I knew it couldn't last.

She SHRIEKED. It was shrill and the entire cafeteria heard and looked her way. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if people had heard her in Idaho. She was bouncing up and down so excitedly it looked like she was only moments from exploding like an atomic bomb.

She lunged out of her chair and wrapped her arms around my neck, still bouncing up and down excitedly, screaming incoherently the entire time. I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Alice! Calm Down!"

Rosalie cocked an eyebrow. _Okay... so what the hell was that all about?_

Emmett looked amused. He felt fairly confident that he'd be getting the information out of Alice later, and was pretty sure from our reactions, that whatever it was he could use as fodder for teasing me for ages. I growled at him and he smirked, feeling confirmed in his suspicions.

Alice finally stopped her theatrics and released my neck. She sat back in her chair, still bubbling in her seat like a carbonated soda with pop-rocks mixed in. She had an enormous grin plastered across her face, but kept her mouth shut.

The attention of the cafeteria had finally faded away from our table, but our siblings were becoming impatient with the lack of information.

"Soooo...." Emmett began. "What the hell was that?"

Alice grinned wider at him, but remained silent.

"Oh come on!" He bellowed. "You can't do that in front of me and then not say a damn thing!"

"Was it anything bad, Alice?" Rose asked offhandedly as she resumed reading the latest issue of Motor Trend.

"Nope!" Alice said, popping the P at the end. She beamed at Rosalie. "Nothing bad."

"Anything to do with me or Emmett?" She asked, still uninterested.

"Nope."

Rosalie shrugged. "Then I don't care."

Alice and Emmett continued to banter for a moment, but I quickly began to ignore them. My mind preoccupied with the images that had just assaulted me via Alice. What did it mean? When does this happen? She had to... know. Seeing me as I am. In the sun like that.

"Alice... when?" I found myself saying, quietly under my breath before I even realized I'd opened my mouth. My eyes met hers.

Her eyes were soft and her smile was genuine.

_Soon I think. Maybe a little over a month and a half. Maybe two._ She thought at me, smiling widely.

Emmett was looking from Alice to me and back again. Frustrated by our silent conversation. He humphed in frustration and folded his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes.

"Fine... whatever. Don't tell me." Emmett grumbled. Alice giggled and hugged Jasper. He eyed her curiously, but he was still feeling the effects of the intense reaction I had to the vision and he welcomed the affection.

The lunch hour came to an end the the population of the school vacated the room. I finally got up and made my way to Biology in a daze.

I didn't say a word to Bella that day in class. I was too lost in my own thoughts to trust myself to say anything rational.

I dodged her eyes awkwardly, but she didn't think much of it.

Being so close to her, smelling her scent, feeling her warmth so near me.... it was too much after seeing what I'd seen. After feeling the powerful urges and emotions the vision had spurned within me.

I needed to think.

I decided to go for a hunt that weekend. Alone. I'd gone out Monday night with Emmett and Jasper to hold me over, but I wanted something a little longer... and more solitary. Hunting would do me good.

After school, I stayed at the house only long enough to tell Esme my plans for some solitary hunting time.

Emmett wanted to tag along, but primarily in hopes of squeezing Alice's vision out of me. When he came to terms with the fact that I would _not_ be telling him, he mentally settled for trying to squeeze it out of Alice while I was away.

Carlisle was still working at the hospital, but I'd be back in a few days, so I saw no reason to go out of my way to see him. Esme and the others would tell him where I'd gone.

And then I was running. Flying through the trees. Heading south east towards Rainier.

God I loved running. If there was nothing else worth celebration in this worthless existence of mine, at least I had running.

----

It was Sunday night. I was nearly home now, but my mind was still a jumble. I didn't want to go into the house yet. I still had no idea what I would do the next time I'd be faced with Bella at school. I wanted to see her. So badly. It was nearly painful going these few days not seeing her, not hearing her thoughts, not smelling her scent... but at the same time, the thought of facing her was terrifying.

Would I continue to pretend that I felt nothing towards her? Pretend she was just another girl at the school that meant nothing to me? Could I even do that?

I couldn't stop listening into her mind. I couldn't stop watching her. And I knew that if I continued down the path I was going, it would drive me mad if I didn't take another step forward.

But could I?

If she found out what I am, that knowledge alone would put her in danger. A human with too much knowledge of our kind was considered a risk. Even if she somehow didn't run screaming from me, the fact remained that knowing too much in and of itself was hazardous to her health.

Not to mention the _obvious_ danger of simply being involved with a _vampire_. I felt relatively confident in my ability to control my bloodlust around her, and Alice's vision only served to strengthen that belief. But the danger remained, nonetheless.

And what if this did progress? That was truly my greatest fear. My greatest horror. My greatest sin.

What if this _did_ end with my greatest desire. If I did manage to claim Isabella as mine. My mate.

I would change her.

That thought alone horrified me.

I would never ask Carlisle to do it for me. It was against his nature to do something like that to someone who had a future ahead of them. Someone who had a valid alternative. A life to live.

I would take that from her.

My selfishness would steal her life from her to make it my own. To make her mine. Because I _wanted_ her.

I was ashamed with myself. I truly was a monster if it was so easy for me to consider such a horrific thing.

_God I wanted to see her...._

Without even thinking I found my feet running. I had no idea where I was going. I let my feet lead me. I stopped in the little front yard of a house. I'd never been there, but I driven by it many times. It was a quaint little two story house.


	2. Time Well Spent

**A/N: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does. Nor do I own the original chapter of Daylight Moon. It belongs to Athey, and I thank her graciously for allowing me to continue it.**

* * *

**Previously:**

_**God I wanted to see her...**_

**Without even thinking I found my feet running. I had no idea where I was going. I let my feet lead me. I stopped in the little front yard of a house. I'd never been there, but I driven by it many times. It was a quaint little two story house****.**

Standing in the middle of the front lawn in the newly-starting rain, I drew in a deep breath and recognized the scent of the trails running across the yard; one I'd only known for two days, but I would know it anywhere. Bella.

This was Bella's house.

I circled the house a few times, figuring out where her scent was strongest. _Looking for her._

I found it near the second floor window at one side of the little house. I surveyed the jump for the smallest fraction of a second.

And then I was on her windowsill.

The window was wide open, and I sat in the frame, one knee bent so that it could fit in the window, the other hanging out the window completely.

Bella's room was simple. There was a small desk with a very large, very outdated computer. Surely it wouldn't be that hard for me to replace it with a better one some day. I wondered if she would let me. If somehow I could make this work.

_Why was I even thinking about this. There was no way such an innocent creature could ever want a monster like me._

_But what if she did?_

I shoved the thought from my mind for now, and continued my examination from my seat in the window.

It wasn't a large room. Bella's bed was centered on the wall, and it was still only five feet from me. I could almost reach out and touch…

Which brought me to the part of my overview I'd been anticipating. She was there, tangled in blankets, her hair spread all around her, over her face, fast asleep.

But not comfortably asleep; she tossed a little every few seconds. I watched her dream. I couldn't tell exactly what it was she was dreaming about. I caught a downpour of rain, like the one Alice had seen coming tomorrow. She was cold.

I left my spot in the window and moved to her side.

_What the _hell _was I _doing_!_

Gently, I pulled her blanket over her. It was a cool night; she was going to freeze. I brushed her hair from her face, feeling every spark of emotion flowing between us. She looked like an angel that was not at peace. _Maybe my angel…_

I was focusing so much on her face that I hadn't realized my hand still rested against her hair. It felt right. I could sit there forever, on the edge of her bed with my hand resting there against her cheek , and never want anything else in the universe.

Bella seemed to calm down a bit. I couldn't tell for sure; Jasper was the empath, not me. But I couldn't see anything in her dreams.

Without warning, she stirred and her eyes opened. I was gone almost immediately, but not fast enough. I could hear it in her thoughts.

_Edward? I could've sworn he was just… No… I'm just imagining… Did I dream it?_

I was still watching her, out on a sturdy branch of an oak tree positioned perfectly to be able to watch her sleep. When she finally fell back asleep, she really did look like an angel. Beautiful, perfect. She didn't need vampiric beauty to be amazing. She was already dazzling.

I sat in the tree all night despite the rain. I didn't worry about the clothes. Knowing Alice, I'd never even see these ones again once I got home. All that mattered to me at that exact moment was the human angel asleep under my gaze.

I left Bella's house before dawn broke. If it were up to me, I'd have stayed later, but I didn't need the neighbors calling in a Peeping Tom – then I wouldn't be able to see her here again.

_And why should that matter to me? _But that was the thing. It did matter.

XxXxXxX

I returned home only for a few minutes, long enough to change my clothes and make myself look prepared for another day of purgatory. But now it didn't even seem like purgatory – I actually looked forward to this round of school now. I looked forward to seeing _her_.

I left again quickly, only to run – literally – into Jasper; the echo of the crash continued for miles.

"Wow, Edward. This girl is really affecting you," he noted. _He's happy, for once. _ The tone of his thought was relieved and happy.

"Yeah, I know." I was responding to both his spoken words and his thoughts.

"Are you riding with us today?"

"I'll meet you there," I answered, already running off back into the forest.

I ran to Bella's house again, and watched from way down the street as she got into a faded red 1953 Chevy pickup and pulled out of the driveway. I had to make sure she was coming today. I didn't know what I would do if she, my newfound lifeline, wasn't at school. I was bound to her.

XxXxXxX

The morning couldn't go fast enough. I tuned into the minds of Bella and her entourage. As usual, the thoughts of Mike Newton, who had taken to sitting beside Bella in their English class, were vile and disgusting. I wanted to wring his neck for looking at her like that.

I switched to watching through Bella's eyes. She, on the other hand was ignoring him completely, trying to focus unsuccessfully on what the lesson was on today. But her thoughts kept drifting. At first she kept her focus quite well: even though she had no idea what was being said, she didn't allow any of what was on her mind distract her.

But then she started to slip, more and more. Finally, I got a full view of the memory she was trying to hold back. An image of me, not a reflection like I'd always been used to. It was backwards, her view of seeing me.

And there I was, sitting on the edge of her bed, my hand resting against her hair, but not touching her skin. She could still feel the sparks flying between my palm and her hair. My eyes were staring deep into hers, and her heart had skipped a beat. _How did I not notice that last night?_ My expression was… Bella's mind supplied the word _confused_, but I was thinking worried and loving in the same expression.

And then I was gone. She felt like the moment had lasted centuries rather than a fraction of a second. She kept telling herself that it was a dream, and she wished she hadn't woken up from said dream. There was a tiny part though that wondered…

Reminding herself that she needed to work on her blushing, she shut out the memory again and tried even harder to focus. Lucky for her, the bell rang then. I couldn't take another second of Newton in the background, undressing her in his mind.

I continued watching through her eyes as she continued through the morning. Every class she tried to focus, and every class her memory of me from last night seeped through. Her heart pounded and her face flushed every time the vivid pictures entered her mind again. I was surprised at how vivid her memory was, for a human.

Finally, it was the humans' lunch break. The second-most looked forward to hour for me now. And sure enough, she was there. She came into the cafeteria, wondering – no, hoping – that I would be there. I could hear her sigh of relief across the cafeteria as she looked in my direction. I turned to watch her enter, tripping over her shoe into her seat beside Angela Weber. Her face flushed scarlet.

In her thoughts, Lauren Mallory laughed at Bella, and ridiculed her. So did Jessica. The idiotic males that surrounded them were too caught up in their horrible fantasies to even notice. Angela was the only one with a kind thought to offer.

_Poor Bella. She's so shy and so nice, and then Jessica turns around and laughs behind her back. _She immediately helped Bella out by retrieving her carton of milk and her apple that had gone flying across the surface of the table. She didn't even comment of Bella's obvious clumsiness like the other girls were.

Bella looked back up at me, blushed again and looked away. _Oh my god… Did he see me fall like that? I hope not .I am such a klutz!_

I chuckled silently and looked away again. She definitely did not see herself like I did.

XxXxXxX

Bella was in Biology early, but not before me. I waited for her at our table, having already taken out the microscope we would be using for the lab today. She stumbled over the doorway as she came in, and then blushed when she looked up and saw me. She cursed herself internally all the way up the aisle to her seat. I didn't understand why that was so necessary.

She mumbled a quick hello to me as she sat down, and then went back to muttering remarks at herself in her mind for making such a fool of herself.

"Are you okay?" I asked, trying not to laugh at her expression.

"I'm fine." She used one of those tones that just sang to me that she was lying. Her thoughts betrayed her. _Such an idiot,_ she was thinking, still, _I can't believe I have to face him for the next hour after I just embarrassed myself like that._

I went back to the same small talk from last week. Maybe one of these days I'd work up the nerve to ask her something meaningful.

Mr. Banner interrupted us, of course, diving right into the lab. Bella listened to half of what he was saying – she'd already done the same lab at her school in Phoenix. She mentioned advanced placement, too. Impressive.

The lab went off almost without a hitch. Almost.

We immediately began checking slides for the observations we needed. I liked this lab, it was allowing Bella and I to keep talking. That was a whole extra hour I could be with her.

_Strange. I'm a vampire, who, by nature, measures years like seconds. And here I am worrying over one hour I get to spend with a girl._

About halfway through the lab, I pushed the microscope toward Bella, and caught up in her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, I didn't notice her reaching for it. That was, until it was too late, and her warm hand had come in contact with my ice cold skin.

I breathed out in relief as her thoughts didn't show any notice in the temperature difference. Instead, they were focused on another image – one she was seeing now. Her eyes were still on mine: she was noticing the color of my eyes. Liquid topaz, she described. I'd never heard it put that way before, but I liked it. Maybe that was simply because it was coming from her. But still, I focused on her view of my eyes, and felt my cold heart warmed by her warm, simple, kind thoughts.

* * *

**A/N: So, finally, _my_ first chapter in regards to this story. I know it's a lot shorter than the first, but I promise I'll add more chapters. **

**Also, I have absolutely no ideas for names for either chapter so far, so if anyone has any ideas you can review or PM me and lend me your suggestions.**

**Until next chapter,**

**JC  
**


	3. Accusation

**A/N: I do not own Twilight or any of the Twilight characters. I'm just fooling around with them and their abilities. (And having far too much fun doing so.) I don't own the original story for Daylight Moon, either – that belongs to Athey. I'm just continuing it. (And once again having far too much fun.)**

**So, I got quite a few reviews on the last chapter, and one in particular mentioned that she was sure that Alice probably wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut for too much longer. Of course, we all know Alice, and therefore know that thus is true. Something that big, she's gotta let it slip sometime. So let's see, shall we?**

* * *

_**Previously:**_

_**About halfway through the lab, I pushed the microscope toward Bella, and caught up in her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, I didn't notice her reaching for it. That was, until it was too late, and her warm hand had come in contact with my ice cold skin.**_

_**I breathed out in relief as her thoughts didn't show any notice in the temperature difference. Instead, they were focused on another image – one she was seeing now. Her eyes were still on mine: she was noticing the color of my eyes. Liquid topaz, she described. I'd never heard it put that way before, but I liked it. Maybe that was simply because it was coming from her. But still, I focused on her view of my eyes, and felt my cold heart warmed by her warm, simple, kind thoughts.**_

* * *

_Admit it, Eddie, _you_ are in love with Bella Swan._

"Shut up, Emmett," I muttered.

Alice had put up a good fight against Emmett, but he had eventually won in getting the truth out of her, and now he and Rose both knew what was going on between Bella and I. Which was just great. Now Rose was on my back like no tomorrow about what she would go through if I screwed this up. And Emmett wasn't going to leave me alone until I admitted just how much I was in love with her.

So now here I was, out hunting, and being followed by my relentless brother, who wasn't going to give up no matter what I did.

"I cannot believe you've fallen for a _human_!" He burst out into hysterical laughter.

"What, Rose doesn't count? I do believe she was once a vampire fallen for a human." I flung myself easily onto the branch of a tree

He stopped laughing. "Shut up, Edward."

I only laughed and then jumped out of the tree, easily taking out a mountain lion.

"So, what are you going to do about her?"

I shrugged and stared into space. "I don't know. Alice sees her with me, but..."

"But?"

_But I didn't want to sublect her to the life of a monster. She deserved better than me._

"I'm not right for her," I answered.

"Aren't you? You saw Alice's vision."

"Yeah."

"And in her vision, Bella knew about us."

"Yeah," I repeated.

"And did she care?"

"Well, no, but-"

"No. Exactly." Emmett's tone ended the conversation.

XxXxXxX

"You are such an _idiot_!"

Less than a day had passed since my conversation with Emmett, and still Rosalie showed no sign of reducing the expressions of her irritation.

I tuned her out and focused on Bella instead. Just simply watching the world through her eyes was enough to calm anyone down.

Today, she was worrying about her mother, Renée. She has sent Bella multiple emails over the last few days, each one of them more insistant than the last. Bella ran over the many questions Renée had asked her. _How's the weather? And Charlie? What about your classes? Have you made many friends yet? Have you read any good books lately?_ Bella felt like the questions would never end. And then the questions were about why she hadn't answered yet. She even threatened to drag her husband to Forks to see her if she didn't answer.

She thought a bit about the answers that she gave, but not as much. She more wondered id she had given acceptable responses. If they were long enough for Renée. How much more questioning would follow. Bella's answers never seemed to be enough with her mother. She wanted desperately to be part of her daughter's life, and she always wanted to know more. And Bella would submit herself to that if it meant her mom was happier. That was why she came here after all.

She had told her mom a lot, I realized as I scrolled through the list with her. To my surprise, she'd even given a few lines about me. Oddly, I liked that.

_Edward, are you listening to me?_

Damn it, Rose had gotten inside my head again, ruining this perfect moment with Bella. "Hm?" I asked.

"You just drove past the parking lot." That was Emmett.

"Really?"

And I had. That was strange. I'd never done that. But I couldn't be surprised. Bella's arrival here had changed the focus of my entire existence. It was just like Jasper had said.

I returned to Bella as I quickly made the turn into the second driveway of the lot. She was just getting out of her truck, and perfect, there was an empty spot beside her, which I pulled into.

Rosalie rolled her eyes mentally at me, but I barely noticed. I was already focused on Bella's eyes as she looked up at me from where she stood on the sidewalk.

_We'll see you at lunch, Edward. _

"See you, Alice," I answered, my eyes never leaving Bella's. It felt so right, standing there with her. When it came time for my family to move on again, how could I possibly be able to leave her?

"Shall we?" I asked.

Bella smiled. I didn't even have to listen to her mind to know what she was thinking. Her timeless brown eyes said it all. She wanted this, too.

My chest felt light. I felt dizzy. _Vampires aren't supposed to feel dizzy like this. What is going on? _

But of course I knew what was going on.

I, Edward Cullen, had fallen for a human. And more importantly, for Bella Swan.

* * *

**I know it's been almost a week since I updated this. I do apologize. I am just a horribly busy person who gets bored easily and therefore overbooks herself to the max. Probably not the smartest idea. But I promise I'll keep updating for you guys! I heart you all! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing too! :D**

**Love you all,**

**Jamie  
**


	4. Blood Type

**A/N: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.  
**

* * *

_**Previously:**_

_"**Shall we?" I asked.**_

_**Bella smiled. I didn't even have to listen to her mind to know what she was thinking. Her timeless brown eyes said it all. She wanted this, too.**_

_**My chest felt light. I felt dizzy. **__**Vampires aren't supposed to feel dizzy like this. What is going on? **_

_**But of course I knew what was going on. **_

_**I, Edward Cullen, had fallen for a human. And more importantly, for Bella Swan****.**_

* * *

I walked Bella to her first class, where Eric Yorkie was waiting for her.

_Damn it, _he thought, _Stupid Cullen. Why did _he_ have to take a liking to her too? Of course she's going to be interested in him; _all_ the girls here are interested in Cullen. He's ruining my chances!_

Eric continued to rant internally for the entire hour. His thoughts were almost impossible to shut out - he was practically yelling at me. It was actually kind of amusing. But it was also rather difficult to decipher Bella's thoughts over the volume of his.

The bell rang, quieting Eric's thoughts just enough that I could get the word _finally_ from Bella.

Eric's thoughts were similar, but for a different reason that made me want to tear his throat out. I cussed quietly, but not so much that no one could hear me. I could her the thoughts of those around me wondering what the hell was with me.

I ignored them and headed straight out the door, aiming for where Bella was.

I would have offered to walk her to class, but she had already been _taken care of_. Jeez.

_He reminds me of a Retriever,_ Bella thought, amused. I stayed around the corner of the building they were heading to, listening.

Eric, on the other hand, was nervous. So much for the retriever analogy.

"So..." he began. I wondered if Bella could hear how much his voice shook.

"So?" Apparently not.

"Well, the spring dance is coming up in a few weeks."

"Is it?" _Please don't,_ Bella pleaded.

He did. "Yeah, and I was, uh, hoping that, uh, maybe you wanted to go with me?" He rushed through the last bit.

Bella was somewhere between amusement and irritation, both toward him.

I moved from my "hiding place" and came around the corner so that I could see them approaching the door. She looked up and met my gaze with her amazing brown eyes. I couldn't get enough of those eyes.

Her memory of me at her bedside - her dream, as far as she was concerned - flashed through her mind. For a brief second, an image of the two of us at the spring dance lingered, but she shut it out. Funny. She was still convinced that she was imagining how I felt.

"Um, actually, Eric," she turned back to him, "I can't."

_I can't believe it. He already asked her. _"Are you going with someone else?"

"No." She searched quickly for an escape route. "I'm not going at all."

"Oh. Why not?"

_Why? Why can't he just accept that I don't want to go with him? _"I'm... My mom's visiting that weekend."

Eric said nothing. _Well, at least she's not going with Cullen._

"I have to get to class," Bella muttered into the akward silence that Eric had left, "I should go."

Eric nodded and moved to open the door for her, but I was already there. "Hi, Bella," I said pleasantly as she walked by. She blushed a beautiful pink and quietly returned my greeting, tripping through the door in the process. _Stupid,_ she thought furiously to herself as she walked down the hallway. _Again! Quit making a fool of yourself in front of him!_

I let the door shut and returned the glare Eric was shooting at me from across the sidewalk. And just as quickly, I erased it, putting on an expression that was perfectly confident, and just slightly cocky. "Morning, Eric," I said with a smirk as I strolled by him, leaving him scattered.

_What? That – I – _

I forced myself not to laugh as he continued to scramble for his thoughts.

XxXxXxX

Lunch came far too slowly for my liking again, as usual. But still, finally, it came. And as usual, it went by far too quickly and I soon found myself waiting in Biology. Waiting… that was a first – me being anxious for class to start.

Bella rushed in just before Mr. Banner tripped through the door, juggling a bunch of boxes in his arms.

He dumped them in a heap on his desk and tried quickly to gather them, but then gave up. "Today," he announced breathlessly, "we're going to be doing blood typing. Since we have a blood drive coming up, I think you should all find out what your blood type is."

_Blood?_

Bella's panicked thought mimicked my own. How could I have forgotten that we were doing blood typing today? Alice and Carlisle had both reminded me this morning that we were going to be doing this. This wouldn't end well. How was I going to escape before the blood of all the students around me made me crazy? I hadn't fed in well over a week.

During the time I'd been freaking out about the blood situation, Mr. Banner had finished explaining the blood typing to the rest of the class and was now passing out cards and needles, and soon the squeals and laughter of teenagers filled the room alongside the burning smell of fresh blood as they stuck their fingers.

Everyone except Bella. She was sitting beside me with her head down on her arms and looking like she was going to be sick.

"Bella?" I touched her shoulder cautiously. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "I can't do this."

I stood up. "Mr. Banner?" He looked up from Mike Newton's table. "Bella's feeling faint. I'm going to take her to the nurse."

I didn't wait for an answer from him to help Bella to her feet and half carry her from the room.

My first instinct was, of course, to take her to my house and care for her myself. I could certainly do a better job than the school nurse. But I ignored it with difficulty and began hauling her toward the office – and the nurse.

We hadn't made it past the next building when Bella groaned. "Let me down."

I set her on the edge of the sidewalk and let her rest. She looked even worse than she had in class. She was paler, and I could see a thin sheet of sweat over her face that wouldn't have been visible to a human. But I knew she could feel it.

I sat beside her. "What is it, Bella?"

She shook her head and lost her balance, falling sideways toward me. I caught her and held her there, letting her use me as a support. Mentally, I heard her groan again. There were no intelligible thoughts, only vague feelings in her head.

"I should really get you to the nurse," I mumbled against my will.

She shook her head again. "I'll be fine," she said, "I just need some air to clear my head. I can still smell it."

"You can _smell_ blood?" I asked skeptically, laughing inside.

She nodded into my jacket. "That's what makes me feel sick. Seeing it is ok, but the smell is so…"

_Good?_ I thought to myself. But the word her head supplied was very different from that of my dark joke: wrong.

_How could I ever tell her what I was now?_

I pushed her forward; just enough that I could stand up and pull her with me. She noticed the temperature difference between our hands this time. I had meant for it to happen. I could let her figure out what I was, and let her decide if she cared. And I would hope Alice was right.

But Bella barely pondered it, assuming it was the weather – the cold of outside making my hands cold. _Just great._

She still relied on my support to get into the office, and Ms. Cope stood up from her desk and began to fret over Bella, though never actually saying anything.

"She's ok," I assured her, "Just faint. They're blood typing in Mr. Banner's class." That would calm her down. And it did. _There's always one_, she thought, and went to get the nurse while I helped Bella into the little room that was the nurse's office.

"Really, Edward, I'll be ok," Bella insisted.

"Just lie down. You'll feel better." I sat her down on the little cot and opened the window, helping to clear the smell from her head, and relieving myself from the smell of all the humans in the office.

The nurse bustled in, Ms. Cope on her heels, with a cloth in her hand. She gave it to Bella. "Lie down and put that on your forehead. That's the best we can do for now." She turned to me. "Let me know if she starts to feel nauseous." They both left the room, leaving Bella and I alone.

She looked up at me. I raised an eyebrow at her and glanced up at the door. "You should really do as she says."

"I meant it. I'm fine."

"Really, Bella. You look like crap. Lie down."

She sighed and gave me a look, but she lay back on the cot and hesitantly put the cloth on her forehead. "I feel like an idiot…" she grumbled under her breath.

"You're not," I answered reflexively, turning back to the window. Then a thought crossed my mind. "Hey, do you want to get out of here?"

I heard her head turn toward me. "What?"

I turned to face her again. "I can go sign you out. And then we can just go somewhere."

_Is he trying to ask me out?_ she mused. And when I thought about it, I guess I was.

My heart, still for over a century, felt like it just might start beating again as I waited in anticipation for her yet-undecided answer.

* * *

**Hey everyone,**

**I apologize that it took so long to get an update up. It's been pretty crazy lately with everything I have going on, but I'm working around it. I haven't given up on Edward :)**

**Hope to have another up soon, now that the writer's block has left me just long enough to figure out where Edward's decided he's taking this Fan Fic next.**

**Jamie :)  
**


	5. Plans

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters! Stephenie does!**

* * *

"_**I feel like an idiot…" Bella grumbled under her breath.**_

"_**You're not," I answered reflexively, turning back to the window. Then a thought crossed my mind. "Hey, do you want to get out of here?"**_

_**I heard her head turn toward me. "What?"**_

_**I turned to face her again. "I can go sign you out. And then we can just go somewhere."**_

_**Is he trying to ask me out?**__** she mused. And when I thought about it, I guess I was.**_

_**My heart, still for over a century, felt like it just might start beating again as I waited in anticipation for her yet-undecided answer.**_

* * *

When she finally spoke, it was the deciding factor – she still had no idea what words were going to come out of her mouth, which meant neither did I.

"Yeah, I guess," she muttered. I smiled to myself, a huge weight now lifted off of me.

"I'll be back in a minute," I told her, and I left the room, leaving the door open a crack, and went to find the secretary. She was easy to find. "Ms. Cope?" I prompted.

She jumped and looked up. "Yes, Edward?" Her heartbeat quickened. _Too young, too young,_ she repeated in her head, but I ignored it. "What can I do for you?"

I leaned forward into the counter and went for my most persuasive voice. "Bella has gym next, and I don't think it's the best idea for her to stay. I think I should just drive her home." I stared intensely at her.

"Of – of course." Her heartbeat accelerated again as I caught her eye. "Do you need to be signed out, as well?"

I shook my head. "Mrs. Goff won't mind. Thank you."

I turned and went back to the nurse's office. Bella had sat up; she was waiting for me.

_Waiting for me…_ That felt… nice, knowing that she was.

"You ready?"

She nodded and slipped off the bed. On her feet she was ok. There was a little wobble, but I attributed that to the clumsiness. "Come on," I teased her, "They'll never let you out of here like this. You can do better than that."

She glared at me for a second, amusement flitting lightly through the back of her mind.

"Humor me," I said.

Mentally, she rolled her eyes, but then she did her best to look as horrible as she could, and started trudging toward the door. "Better?"

I frowned and surveyed her. "Yeah. Keep playing it up."

She nodded and reached for the door handle.

"Wait," I blurted.

Her hand dropped. "What now?"

"Use me for support. It'll look better."

_Whatever…_ even though the thought was kind of sarcastic, she liked the idea. I put my arm around her waist, and a bit hesitantly, she put her arm around my shoulder. I didn't even have to look at her to know that she was blushing; I could feel the warmth radiating from her face. But I did anyways. _Had I ever noticed before just how beautiful she was?_

I shook that thought for the moment and then proceeded to help carry Bella out of the room.

"Feel better, Bella," Ms. Cope said, but then she found herself occupied with Mike, who was now stumbling through the door carrying another kid, who's name I didn't offhand care to know. He glared at me full on as the nurse took the other kid off his hands and led him into the office.

_Cullen… I swear, if he does _anything_ to her, I'll fucking kill him._ "Hey, Bella, how're you feeling?"

She shrugged.

"You still coming to the beach this weekend?"

"I said I was, didn't I?" her voice was cold.

"Good. We're meeting at our store." _And this jerk's not invited._

"Ok."

"Get better." _If you don't come because of him, he's dead._ Bella gave a weak nod. Okay, maybe she was overdoing it.

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Bella was already dragging me out of the office.

Outside she let go of me and the space beside me where she had just been felt hollow. She walked out into the light rain and put her face up toward the sky. I was going to question it, but then I understood as she silently breathed out in relief as the cool mist washed the clamminess from her face.

"Better?" I asked.

She nodded. "Much better." Self consciously, she noticed her stomach grumble. I didn't remember her having much for lunch. That gave me an idea.

"Where do you want to go?"

She shrugged. "Wherever." Excellent. That was what I wanted to hear.

It took virtually no time at all to get to this restaurant on the highway just outside of Forks. It was just a little diner, family-owned. A place for travelers to stop for dinner and then continue on. Perfect. We got out of the car.

"A restaurant?" Bella wondered out loud. _That's nice… I'm kind of hungry, especially after Biology…_ She shuddered mentally at the idea of the blood.

"Yeah. I figured it made sense since you haven't had lunch yet."

_What…? _She stopped dead in her tracks. "How did you know that?"

I fumbled for an answer. "I just meant… well, you must be hungry after that, right? Food will help after the blood thing." Crap. By now she was bound to figure out my secret.

"No," she said, "You specifically said that I hadn't eaten lunch today. I only saw you at lunch from across the cafeteria, you couldn't possibly have known. What are you, stalking me now?"

"No," I answered, too quickly to my ears, "I assure you, I am _not_ stalking you." _Well, maybe just a little._

"Then how did you know?"

"Lucky guess?" I offered. I was never at this kind of loss for words. I always had a lie. Would we have to move sooner because of this? What if when she found out she went to the police? My family would kill me.

She eyed me, still thinking. "You're not going to tell me."

"No," I confirmed, "You can try to figure it out, but I would advise that you not. Please. For your own sake."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

How could I explain this without telling her? "It means that if you know what's good for you, you'll stay as far away from us as possible." _Not that I want you to._ Still, I hoped she would take my warning and run as far as she could, anywhere but here with me.

She watched me critically. She was determined to figure out what I was hiding. _Please don't, Bella. Once you figure it out, you'll hate me. _

_Whatever_, she decided. "Let's just go inside."

I held the door for her and she gave me another furtive look as she passed. _What the hell… What _are_ you? _she wondered.

_Don't__, Bella. _But then Alice's vision crept back, and Emmett's words, too.

_I'm not right for her._

_Aren't you? You saw Alice's vision._

_Yeah._

_And in her vision, Bella knew about us._

_Yeah._

_And did she care?_

_Well, no, but – _

_No. Exactly._

_Maybe it would work out…_

I answered the hostess automatically and she gave us a table on one side of the almost empty dining room. Vaguely, I noticed Bella critiquing the way the hostess looked at me. She wasn't happy about it. She was _jealous_.

I had barely even noticed the hostess. My eyes had become quite partial to focusing on Bella, and that's what they did.

The waitress came, and Bella looked at me to order first. I shook my head. "Go ahead."  
She glanced down at her menu. "Spaghetti, I guess."

"And for you?" The waitress looked at me expectantly.

"Nothing for me."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded and handed her my menu. She took that as a dismissal and walked away.

Bella was still watching me.

"What?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm trying to figure out what you are," she said.

"And how is that going?"

She shrugged. "Not very well."

"I really wish you wouldn't try," I said.

"Why not?"

"I'm not good for you. I was serious when I said you should stay away from us." Still she didn't take it.

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

We were interrupted by the arrival of her lunch.

Bella didn't understand what I meant. I wanted so badly to tell her, and know that she was ok with what I was. But part of me still thought she would run for the hills as soon as she knew. She should have been cowering away from me in terror by now.

"So, the spring dance is coming up," she noted absently while she ate.

"Yeah, I heard you and Eric talking this morning."

"You _what_?" she laughed, crumpled a napkin and threw it at me. I caught it. "Are you sure you're not spying on me?"

"Certainly." I was taken by how quickly she'd gone from being so suspicious to being amused. "I'll warn you, Mike and Tyler are planning to ask you too."

_Damn it…_ "Oh. Well, that's…" …_not good. At all_. "I won't be going anyways, though."

"Why not?"

_Because I'm not interested._ "I don't do dances. I was thinking I might head out to Port Angeles or Seattle, maybe find a bookstore."

"Well, that's a shame. I was thinking I might ask you."

"Well I hate to disappoint, but honestly, I can't dance."

I sat thinking for a few seconds. "Seattle, huh?"

She nodded, digging into the last few remnants of her spaghetti.

"Do you want a ride?"

"What?" _Did he…?_

I repeated myself slowly.

"Well, you're sure?"

"I was going to head that way anyways sometime soon. Might as well."

"Oh. Ok, sure." She smiled.

She'd said yes. To me.

* * *

**I know, I know, it's been a while since I updated this. I really need to spend more time writing, don't I? Then maybe I can actually finish something :P But anyways, he finally asked her out... sort of... I'm happy about that. And I already have the next chapter planned, I just have to write it, so it should be out soon!**

**Love you guys :)**

**Jamie  
**


	6. Truth

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or any part of it. All of it belongs to Stephenie :)**

* * *

"How was LaPush?"

It was Monday morning.

I had spent all of Saturday just outside the treaty line, listening, hoping I might hear her. But I never did. She was too far away.

I had watched her sleep again. I'd never seen her sleep so restlessly. Something was definitely bothering her. The only positive thought running through her head was that though it was cloudy, it wasn't raining.

"It was fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Then what's bugging you?"

I could tell she was trying not to think about it. She was struggling. I decided to try and break through to it. I caught a name. _Jacob…_

"Someone said something." Her thoughts faltered. Her barrier dropped for just a minute. The image in her head revealed on of the kids on the reserve. She was walking on the beach with him. I assumed this was Jacob. "A friend. You didn't like it."

The wall snapped back up. "Ok, you know what, I _really_ don't want to talk about it."

"Alright." I left it at that, and left her at her class.

XxXxXxX

Bella joined me for lunch again.

"Any better?" I asked as she sat down.

"You're freakishly intuitive, you know that right?"

"Wouldn't be the first time I've been called a freak," I chuckled.

"I'm serious. Sometimes it's like you can read my mind." She took a bite into her lunch.

I laughed again. She had no idea how right she was.

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing," I dismissed my laughter.

_He can't be. It's impossible._ "Well you're not right?"

"Of course not. I couldn't be. It's impossible."

_What the hell…_ "How did you know?"

I pretended to be oblivious. "Know what?"

"You just said _exactly_ what I was thinking."

"Did I?"

"Do not lie to me, Edward Cullen. I swear I will tear your head off."

I guffawed louder. She shushed me.

"Do you really have to do that?"

"Would you prefer to go outside?"

_That would be a lot less embarrassing…_ She just rolled her eyes at me and sighed.

"Alright then, let's go." I stood up.

"What?"

"If it's less embarrassing outside, then we'll go outside. I'd rather the whole school didn't hear this conversation anyways."

As we walked, I could hear my siblings talking and thinking about me. Alice must have told them what was happening. What Bella was now suspecting of me.

_It'll be alright Edward_, Alice said, and showed me the vision of Bella and I again.

_Be careful_, was Jasper.

Rosalie focused only on her anger and what this may do to our family. Jeez, I wasn't going to tell her _that_ much. Not yet.

Emmett was amused, but happy I was finally getting around to this.

Outside, I turned to face Bella. "Say it."

"What?"

"I know you know what I can do, Bella. You just proved it in there." I jerked my head back toward the cafeteria. "So just throw it out there. Make this easier for both of us."

She hesitated for a long while, but I could tell she was just pulling together her thoughts. That little number 11 formed between her brows as she focused. "You know what I'm thinking," she finally said, and then looked up at me, and those warm brown eyes met mine, "Don't you?"

"It's about time you figured it out. I wasn't exactly keeping it a secret from you."

"No, you just omitted it entirely," she countered.

"Well what else was I supposed to do? 'Hi Bella, I'm Edward and I can read minds,'?"

She folded her arms tightly across her chest and sat on a bench. "Still. You should have told me."

"I just did."

She was silent for a while. She had the wall up around her thoughts again. I stood comfortably and watched her.

"You really can read minds, huh?"

I nodded.

"How does it work?"

"I don't know. The better I know a person, the better my range is. Everyone kind of has this mind voice. It sometimes reflects their real voice. Sometimes it's different. There're no real rules to it. Usually I just tune it out, like humming in the background, and it all fades a bit." I paused, noticing that she hadn't made a sound. "It sounds crazy, I know."

"It _is_ crazy. It's not normal. People aren't just supposed to know what other people are thinking. It's not supposed to be physically possible."

"Well, apparently it is, because here I am, and I can do it."

"Apparently," she muttered. "You're insane, you know that, right? Totally and completely insane."

"I am? Well I guess if I'm nuts then I'll have to check into an asylum, won't I?

"Guess so."

"And we'll have to cancel that Seattle trip if I can't go."

Her expression changed. Instead of accusing, it was now playful. "Maybe you can wait until after that weekend? And then we'll commit you?"

I had to admit she was taking this extremely well. Her expression showed a little disbelief, understandably. She couldn't quite grasp my gift. It was to be expected. Shock was hard on human bodies. But otherwise she was completely accepting this.

I supposed I was setting up to tell her about the vampire thing later. That would register an even bigger shock. I had to be sure she would be able to handle it. That she wouldn't turn and run and scream bloody murder and force me to leave her.

XxXxXxX

Biology was different today to say the least. It was a load off my shoulders to know that I had opened up to Bella. But the one telling me I would have to do it again was getting heavier.

We didn't say a word to each other. We didn't need to. Nothing had to be said. We just sat in silence and tried to watch the movie that Mr. Banner was showing. I couldn't pay attention for the girl beside me. As soon as the lights went out there was a strange electricity that I could hear humming between her body and mine. It was soothing and burning and urging me to reach out and touch her all at once.

I crossed my arms and forced myself to look at the screen. I sneaked a sideways glance at Bella. She was sitting identically. And she couldn't pay attention either. Because of me. That tingly feeling swarmed my chest again.

XxXxXxX

I walked Bella through the rain to her truck after school ended. She was wearing my jacket, having left hers in her truck in the absence of rain this morning.

"You've been very quiet," I commented.

"I'm still getting used to the whole…" she hesitated, _You know, the mind-reading thing._

"I know. I'm sorry." _When have I ever been this hesitant and quiet talking to a human?_

_It's not your fault._

"I'll see you tomorrow."

_Wait here for me?_ She was totally taking advantage of this.

"Of course."

"Bye, Edward." She turned the key and the truck roared loudly. She went completely red and then pulled out.

I returned to my family and started the car without a word.

_It went well._

I nodded slightly in a silent response to Alice.

_That's good. She's not running away._

"Yet."

_Sorry._

I shrugged and then checked briefly for anything else new concerning Bella. All I found was that it would be cold for the next two days.

XxXxXxX

The roads were frozen by the time my siblings and I reached the school the next morning. Bella pulled slowly into the parking lot just moments after we did, and I stood beside my car watching her.

_Hi, Edward._ The voice from her head was soft and happy.

She got out carefully, holding onto the edges of the beast for dear life. She shuffled to the back of the car. I closed my eyes and studied the rear tires with her.

Someone had put on snow chains. _Charlie…_ her dad had put on snow chains. I was so caught up with her that I almost didn't catch Alice's vision that came only a split second before the real thing.

What caught me was her cry of "No!"

Tyler Crowley had chosen to take the turn around a corner far too fast and was now careening uncontrollably across the ice – sliding directly toward Bella.

_No. Not her._

I ran to her. Not a human run. A full, blur-to-the-human-eye vampire sprint, and reached her in a fraction of a second. I was going so fast that I hit her hard enough to knock her to the ground. To my advantage right now, she had no idea what was going on.

I pushed the van away just as it would have hit us, using the car to the other side of us as a brace against my shoulders. It went spinning, and, as though Bella were a magnet pulling it in, it looped around and came at her again.

_Oh, great._ I swore out loud and grabbed it this time. I looped my arm around Bella's body and pulled her awkwardly out of the way before I let the van go. It came crashing down on exactly the same spot where her legs had been only a second ago.

"Bella?" I asked. Had I hurt her? I hit her pretty hard, and she fell pretty hard. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled, sitting up slowly.

"I think you hit your head."

She hadn't realized it until now. She was surprised by the pain. "Ow." She tried to get up. I held her.

"Don't move. Please." People had started to shout around us. A siren sounded far out in the distance. Near the hospital.

She relaxed into me. _Are you ok?_

"I'm fine," I told her.

_Wait…_ "How did you get over here so fast?"

"I was standing next to you, Bella. I pulled you out of the way." The lie was automatic, a defense mechanism. I knew she would catch it. And she did.

_Liar._ "No you weren't. You were over there." She nodded toward my car where my siblings were still standing. I knew they were watching, waiting to find out how this would end.

I didn't try to argue this time. "I can't explain it."

"Why not?"

"Just trust me?"

"Try."

"Later. Just please don't say anything about it, ok? To anyone."

Internally, she groaned loudly. "Fine."

Then the humans finally pried the van away. I could have helped them, but I was more concerned about Bella.

_We _will_ talk,_ she stressed.

I nodded in response. It was the last communication we had before the humans finally moved the van out of the way. I refused to let them touch her, and instead pulled her up myself. The paramedics were there waiting. I knew them both.

They helped me get her to a stretcher. As if I needed their help. But I played along while Bella insisted that she was fine.

"She hit her head. She probably has a concussion," I told them.

_You had to,_ she muttered, glaring at me.

I gave her a mildly apologetic look. I took her face in my hands. "It's for your own good. I'll see you at the hospital." Then I stood up. "Take her."

They did, and I went for my car to meet her there as I'd promised.

Rosalie was worse than angry. I didn't even have a word to describe her. Emmett was holding her back, and her thoughts were nothing but strings of profanities.

I felt guilty for almost exposing us. But I knew I wouldn't have been able to live if she had been killed by that van. Jasper watched me, and gave me a small resolute nod as he studied my emotions. _It's ok, _he assured me.

They all watched me leave.

XxXxXxX

The first person I talked to when I reached the hospital was Carlisle.

Surprise registered in his mind when he took in the mix of expressions on my face. _Edward? What happened? _

I nodded. "For now, at least. There was an accident at school." I quickly relayed what had happened.

"You almost exposed us." He didn't sound angry, only concerned.

"I know. I don't feel I had a choice. I couldn't let her die."

_It's alright. We'll deal with whatever comes as it does. _

I heard footsteps outside Carlisle's office, and then the face of one of the other doctors appeared in the doorway. "Dr. Cullen? There are some patients waiting for you in the ER. A minor car accident at the high school."

He looked at me. _Bella?_ I nodded. "I'll be right there," he said.

I followed Carlisle.

Bella was lying on a gurney pretending to be asleep. She was avoiding having to talk to Tyler beside her, who, by her memory, wouldn't stop apologizing and was promising to make it up to her. I checked Tyler's thoughts, and found nothing suspicious for now.

I went and sat at the foot of her bed. Her eyes shot open at the notice of the added weight and landed straight on me. She smiled. _Hey._

"How're you feeling, Bella? I hear you took quite a tumble this morning." Bella's eyes shifted to Carlisle, and after a moment's shock, she knew who he must be.

Carlisle looked at the bump I knew would be forming on the side of her head. She tried to hide a wince when he touched it, and that sent a wave of guilt through me for putting it there.

He held a finger in front of her and asked her to follow it. She did with no trouble.

"You seem perfectly fine, Bella. I see no reason why you can't leave. Call if you start feeling dizzy or nauseous, and we'll take another look. You, on the other hand," he tuned to a bandaged-up Tyler, "are going to need to stay a little longer."

_I'll go release her,_ he said.

I nodded to him and looked back at Bella.

_Does that mean we can talk now?_ she asked.

I jerked my head toward the door. "Let's go."

She got up silently, making a point of only thinking about the scenery of the area. I ignored it. I knew what was really on her mind.

I found Carlisle. "Can we use your office?" I asked him.

_Do what you must. I'll keep her father busy._

"Thank you," I whispered, and then took Bella gently by her hand and led her to Carlisle's office. She let go as soon as the door was shut behind us and turned to face me.

"What was that?" she asked, "This morning?"

"I think you know that already."

"You stopped the van, Edward."

"I know. What did Jacob tell you, Bella?"

"He told me… stories. Old Quileute legends about wolves, and one… he told me one that got me thinking."

"And?"

"I think I know what you are."

I knew what she was thinking. She was right. "Then say it. Out loud, right here."

She stumbled over her words for a moment. "Vampire," she breathed calmly.

I was relieved to say the least. She had accepted what I am without a flicker of fear.

She was watching me. "What are you thinking?" she asked me.

"Honestly, I'm wondering how you're not running for the hills right now. How are you not afraid of what I am?"

She stared off somewhere over my shoulder. "I don't know. I guess I just… decided it doesn't matter."

"It doesn't _matter_?" I choked out. How could that not matter. I searched her mind for some sign that she had to be lying, some truth she was intent on hiding from me. Nothing. Either she was hiding it beneath some other thought or she was being sincere. "You're not…" I struggled for the right word, "concerned? At all?"

"I know you wouldn't hurt me."

"But I could, Bella. Naturally you're my prey! I mean, you don't care that I'm a monster? That I could _kill_ you?"

She just shrugged. "No, you couldn't. you've had plenty of chances to."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of, Bella. What I've done."

_You won't scare me off. I've already chosen you. _"It doesn't matter," she insisted.

"I know it won't make a difference," I sighed.

_You're listening_, she said.

"And you say I'm intuitive," I laughed.

_I fell in love with you too early to care what you are, Edward._

* * *

**A/N: Hey! I finally got everything transferred from the old computer to the new one, so voila! Chapter 6! :) Though it was much later than I had originally planned. Updates should be much more often now than they have been now that school is over. And cadets. And sports. And just about everything else too. Is anyone else finding that they have a lot of free time now that it's all over for the summer and now it's like there's nothing left to do? Well, except write of course.**

**I'm going to post a preview of a new fan fiction on my profile for you guys, check it out. It's in progress right now, and for the most part it's just waiting on a name - if you guys have any ideas for me, I'll love you forever. (Nah, I already love you guys! You're awesome!)  
**

**Jamie :)**


	7. Interrogation

A/N: I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters! They belong to Stephenie.

* * *

_**You won't scare me off. I've already chosen you.**__**"It doesn't matter," she insisted.**_

_**"I know it won't make a difference," I sighed.**_

_**You're listening, she said.**_

_**"And you say I'm intuitive," I laughed.**_

_**I fell in love with you too early to care what you are, Edward.**_

"Are you fucking _crazy_!"

I paused on a branch. "Maybe." Then I kept running.

"Seriously? I can't believe you told her. You fucking moron, do you have _any_ idea what you could have done to our family?"

I sighed. "Yes, Rosalie. I considered that possibility a _long_ time ago."

"Did you? Because I do not see the logical thinking here."

"Rose, if she was going to expose us, she probably would have done it as soon as she figured it out. Which, by the way, she did, in case you don't remember. I didn't tell her. I saved her life, and she pulled out a story that one of those LaPush kids told her on the weekend. He told her all about us."

"The mutts told her?"

I nodded.

"_Fuck_."

I didn't answer her. For now she was angry, but she would come around.

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Mmhmm."

"You don't see a problem in doing nothing?"

"No. Do you?"

"Oh, only the Volturi, no big deal there. We're just settling in here; I don't want to move so soon again to keep them from killing us!"

"That won't happen."

"How do you know?"

"Bella's smart. She wouldn't talk. Plus I think she cares too much to put us in danger."

"You don't know that."

"Rose. I've finally found someone I care about. This is the first time in over a hundred years that I've actually felt _good_. Can't you just let me be happy for once?"

We were back at the house now. Rosalie shot me a glare.

"This is wrong, Edward. You know that. She's not one of us." She went inside. I followed at human speed.

Emmett watched her fly by and then turned to me. "What happened?"

"You may want to watch her until she calms down. She's not exactly happy about this..."

XxXxXxX

The first few days after that were pretty much the same as they had been before. Bella didn't ask much, so I didn't say anything. From what I gathered of her thoughts, she was taking a bit of time to adjust to understanding fully what I was.

But as I'd figured, once she'd wrapped her head around the idea, she got curious.

We were sitting in the cafeteria, a tray of food I'd bought sitting between us.

"Why do you buy all of this food if you don't eat?" she asked absently, staring at the tray.

"Props, mostly. We all do it. It's how we fit in. You can have some if you want," I added, "It'll just go in the garbage anyways."

She picked up an apple and ate while she thought. How do you fit in? I mean… You drink blood; wouldn't people notice something?

"We don't hunt humans," I said. "It's kind of our little family joke – we call ourselves vegetarians. We hunt animals."

"Is that where you go when you're supposed to be hiking?"

I nodded.

She let out a little laugh. "Huh. Vampire vegetarians. Watch out, world."

I waited patiently for her to figure out what else she wanted to say.

She glanced out the window. The sun… "I'd ask, but clearly, it doesn't affect you."

"I wouldn't say that," I corrected. "It doesn't kill us. But it still affects us. That's why we only go hunting when it's sunny out."

"How?"

I thought of the way the sun broke into countless rays off the facets of my skin. "It's kind of hard to explain. I don't even know how it works, exactly. But it's like… I don't know, it'd probably be easier to show you, but it's like diamonds." I watched the image her mind supplied her. "Not exactly like that. But close."

"I see," she trailed off.

"I'll show you sometime." What was I doing? This wasn't smart and I knew it. But it was Bella. She just held me in the palm of her hand without even meaning to, and worse than not being able to get away, I didn't want to. The harder I tried not to fall, the harder I did.

"Mm…" she mused, "That'd be fun. What about coffins?"

"Myth."

"So then where do you sleep?"

"I don't." I couldn't help but smile at the look on her face.

You don't… sleep? Ever?

"Ever."

Huh. "So… the mind reading thing… Is it because of…" well, being a vampire?

"Not sure. Probably. Carlisle's best guess is I was sensitive to people's thoughts before it happened. And then after, it just... enhanced."

"Oh."

I watched Bella for a while. Soon I found myself completely lost in her eyes. The chocolate warmth pulled me in and I couldn't even find the strength to get back into her head.

"What would you do… you know, if your secret ever got out?"

I sighed. "We'd have to leave. Before it had time to get around. That's why I never wanted to tell you. Just in case you freaked out and ran off telling everyone about us. That's why I was so scared after the accident. Why I ran off in the blood testing lab. It could be the end of my family if I exposed us." I shuddered internally at the thought of what the Volturi could do to us.

"I won't tell anyone," Bella whispered.

"I know you won't."

XxXxXxX

I walked Bella to her truck after school. "What are you doing on the day of the dance?"

She laughed a little bit. "I don't dance."

I laughed. "Awe, why not?"

"I'm clumsy… I fall over when I dance. So, I'm sorry, but you can't ask me to the dance."

"I actually wasn't going to."

"You – you weren't?"

"No. I was thinking… that, maybe, you wanted to go somewhere that day. Alice says it's supposed to be sunny."

"What?"

"I never told you that? Oh. Well, I'm… not the only one with powers in my family. Alice has visions."

She thought about this for a second while she got into her truck and then dismissed it. I found it strange how easily she had accepted this.

"Does that mean you'll show me what you look like in the sun?"

"If you want to see, yes."

She smiled to herself and played with a piece of her hair.

_I'd like that_.

"So… I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. She started the truck and it roared to life.

I smiled at her, and she blushed.

"Have a good night, Bella."

"You too, Edward."

I heard the truck shift into gear and she pulled out of the parking lot. I watched her mind as she watched in the rearview mirror as she drove away until I couldn't hear her anymore.

I turned away then and went back to my car. Only Alice and Jasper were driving with me today. Rosalie and Emmett had the BMW. Rose glared at me from the driver's seat and sent me a mental image of the Volturi tearing us and Bella to pieces. I pushed it from my mind. I would deal with the Volturi if I had to.

That was, if Rosalie didn't kill one of us first.

* * *

**Well... Lookey here, we have an update!**

**Anyways, I apologize SO much that I didn't get it out here sooner. It makes me sad.**

**But I'm still here :) It's just hard to update, between grade 12 and crazy extracurriculars and homework and massive writer's block. Seriously, I didn't write ANYTHING at all for about a month. :/**

**So whadaya think? This one is just kind of a filler chapter... I'm slowly starting to run out of ideas for this. But I will wait patiently for it to return :) Edward, naturally, is kind of falling entirely for Bella. Rosalie, of course, isn't happy about that. I know she wasn't _this_ bad in the actual books, but I just HAD to play her up.**

**Read anything good lately? Anyone read HoN? Awakened is out! (And I still don't have my copy!)**

**However, I did enjoy reading Three Day Road. It's an excellent read, very well written, and the plot just pulls you in, whether you like war books or not.**

**I've also submitted a whole ton of new chapters to stories over on FictionPress too! Username: AngelontheMoon**

**Check me out!**

**Until next time, my lovely readers! I love you guys!**

**Jamie  
**


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